Service experience score system

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for providing a service experience score at a merchant physical location include a system provider device that determines, through communication at least one of a plurality of beacon devices located at the merchant physical location and a user device, a start of a user service experience. The system provider device also determines, through the at least one of the plurality of beacon devices and the user device, an end of the user service experience. A service experience score that is based at least partly on the start of the user service experience and the end of the user service experience is generated. The service experience score is stored in a database in association with a merchant that is associated with the merchant physical location. Subsets of the service experience score may be associated with different locations of the merchant physical location.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present disclosure generally relates to merchant physical locations,and more particularly to a service experience score system thatquantifies customer service experiences at merchant physical locations.

Related Art

More and more consumers are purchasing items and services overelectronic networks such as, for example, the Internet. Consumersroutinely purchase products and services from merchants and individualsalike. The transactions may take place directly between a conventionalor on-line merchant or retailer and the consumer, and payment istypically made by entering credit card or other financial information.Transactions may also take place with the aid of an on-line or mobilepayment service provider such as, for example, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose,Calif. Such payment service providers can make transactions easier andsafer for the parties involved. Purchasing with the assistance of apayment service provider from the convenience of virtually anywhereusing a mobile device is one main reason why on-line and mobilepurchases are growing very quickly.

Some payment service providers provide online and mobile paymentservices for merchants with merchant physical locations and theircustomers in order to allow the customers to make purchases from themerchants at the merchant physical locations. When deciding upon aparticular merchant physical location (e.g., a restaurant) to visit andmake purchases, customers may wish to make their decision based on howlong the service experience at the merchant physical location will last.Conventionally, merchants sometimes attempt to provide customers with anestimated wait time at their merchant physical location that may bebased, for example, on a total number of customers currently waiting forservice, or a current position in a line. Other conventional systemsinvolve merchants issuing numbers to waiting customers, which may beused in conjunction with a graphic display indicating a number of thecustomer that is currently being served, which allows customers tonumerically visualize their place in queue. However, such methods anddevices for providing a customer with an expected wait time are ofteninaccurate and at best provide only a very rough estimate of how long itwill take a customer to receive service at the merchant physicallocation. Furthermore, such conventional estimated wait times for amerchant physical location, regardless of their accuracy, only provideestimates of a time until a customer is seated or until it is thecustomer's turn to receive a service, and do not take into account waittimes for other aspects of service at a particular merchant physicallocation.

Thus, there is a need for a service experience score system thataccurately reflects the time it takes for a merchant to perform one ormore service actions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a merchantphysical location.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a beacondevice;

FIG. 3a is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a serviceexperience score system that includes a plurality of the beacon devicesof FIG. 2 in the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3b is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of the serviceexperience score system of FIG. 3a with the beacon devices providingcommunication areas;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method forproviding a service experience score;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a systemprovider device connected to beacon devices in the merchant physicallocation of FIG. 3a and to customer and merchant physical locationdatabases to provide a service experience score;

FIG. 6a is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a customerparking at the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6b is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a customerwalking toward the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6c is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a customerentering the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6d is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a customerbeing seated at the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6e is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a customerplacing an order at the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6f is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a customerwaiting for the order at the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6g is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a customerreceiving the order at the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6h is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a customerpaying for the order at the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6i is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a customerwalking toward an exit at the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6j is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a customerexiting the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6k is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a customerleaving a parking area at the merchant physical location of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6l is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a map of themerchant physical location of FIG. 1 illustrating a first method fordisplaying service experience scores;

FIG. 6m is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a map of themerchant physical location of FIG. 1 illustrating a second method fordisplaying service experience scores;

FIG. 7 is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a customer devicedisplaying a service experience score screen;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a networkedsystem;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a customerdevice;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a computersystem; and

FIG. 11 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a systemprovider device.

Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are bestunderstood by referring to the detailed description that follows. Itshould be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identifylike elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, whereinshowings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of thepresent disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a system and method for providing aservice experience score for a merchant physical location. A pluralityof beacon devices provided at the merchant physical location may beconfigured to communicate with customer devices around and throughoutthe merchant physical location during customer visits to the merchantphysical location. A system provider device communicating with a userdevice through at least one of a plurality of beacon devices may thendetermine a start of a user service experience. For example, the systemprovider device may communicate with the user device of a customerentering the merchant physical location and thus determine such an eventto be the start of the user experience (e.g., a visit to the merchantphysical location). The system provider device also communicates withthe user device through the at least one of the plurality of beacondevices to determine an end of the user service experience. For example,the system provider device may communicate with the user device of acustomer paying a bill or leaving the merchant physical location andthus determine such an event to be the end of the user experience (e.g.,the visit to the merchant physical location). A service experience scoreis then generated by the system provider device that is based at leastpartly on the start of the user service experience and the end of theuser service experience. During the customer visit to the merchantphysical location, one or more of a plurality of events (e.g., serviceevents) may occur between the start and end of the user serviceexperience, and such events may also be used to generate the serviceexperience score. The generated service experience score is stored in adatabase in association with a merchant that is associated with themerchant physical location. The generated and stored user serviceexperience scores from a plurality of different customers may be used toprovide any customer with a breadth of information regarding a possiblevisit to the merchant physical location, including an overall time thatmay be required for their visit to the merchant physical location, aswell as a variety of other expected service times during a serviceexperience as discussed below. Service experience scores and relatedinformation may also be provided to the merchant to enable the merchantto leverage that information to determine the level of service they areproviding, and possibly correct any deficiencies in that service.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a merchant physical location100 is illustrated. The merchant physical location 100 includes amerchant building 102 having a plurality of walls 102 a, 102 b, 102 c,and 102 d that define a merchant physical location interior 104 that, inthe embodiments illustrated and discussed below, is utilized as arestaurant. However, one of skill in the art in possession of thepresent disclosure will recognize that the service experience scoresystem described herein may be utilized with virtually any merchantphysical location such as, for example, a department/grocery store, apharmacy, a movie theater, a theme park, a sports stadium, and/or avariety of other merchant physical locations known in the art. The wall102 a includes a pair of doors 106 a and 106 b (e.g., “entrance” and“exit” doors in the illustrated embodiment).

In an embodiment, the merchant physical location interior 104 of themerchant physical location 100 includes a plurality of areas. Forexample, as discussed above, in the embodiments discussed below themerchant physical location 100 is a restaurant and the merchant physicallocation interior 104 includes a bar area 108, a to-go area 110, a tableseating area 112, a large booth seating area 114, and a small boothseating area 116. The bar area 108 includes a plurality of barstools 108a, 108 b, 108 c, 108 d, 108 e, 108 f, and 108 g. The table seating area112 includes a plurality of tables 112 a, 112 b, 112 c, 112 d, 112 e,and 112 f. The large booth seating area 114 includes a plurality ofbooths 114 a, 114 b, 114 c, 114 d, 114 e, and 114 f. The small boothseating area 116 includes a plurality of booths 116 a, 116 b, 116 c, and116 d. For purposes of illustration, each of the above-mentionedrestaurant areas are demarcated with dashed lines 117 as shown inFIG. 1. Additionally, the merchant physical location 100 includes aparking area 105 having a plurality of parking spaces 105 a, 105 b, 105c, and 105 d. While an example of a restaurant is provided, one of skillin the art will recognize that any variety of different areas in anymerchant physical location will fall within the scope of the presentdisclosure. One of skill in the art will appreciate that, depending onwhere a customer is seated within the merchant physical locationinterior 104, service wait times may vary (e.g., a customer seated inthe bar area 108 or the to-go area 110 may receive faster service thancustomers seated in one of the other areas of the merchant physicallocation). Thus, while the generation of the service experience score isillustrated and discussed below as being associated with the table 112e, service experience scores may be associated with any area or sub-areawithin the merchant physical location 100 (e.g., with the booths, bararea, barstools, to-go area, etc.) in a similar manner.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an embodiment of a beacon device 200 isillustrated. The beacon device 200 includes a chassis that houses afirst communications system 204 such as, for example, a Wificommunications system. The first communications system 204 is coupled toa beacon engine 206 that may be provided by instruction on a memorysystem (not illustrated) in the beacon device 200 that, when executed bya processing system (not illustrated) in the beacon device 200, causesthe processing system to perform the functions of the beacon device 200discussed below. The beacon engine 206 is coupled to a secondcommunication system 208 such as, for example, a Bluetooth® Low Energy(BLE) communication system. The beacon engine 206 may be configured toreceive any of a variety of sensor signals through the secondcommunication system 208 and transmit those sensor signals using thefirst communication system 204. While a few examples of communicationscomponents in the beacon device 200 have been described, one of skill inthe art will recognize that other communications devices, as well asother components that have been omitted for clarity of discussion andillustrated, may be included in the beacon device 200 and will fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure. One of skill in the art willrecognize that the components described above allow for the beacondevice to be provided in a relatively small form factor such that it maybe placed inconspicuously almost anywhere. As such, the chassis 202 ofthe beacon device 200 may include any of a variety of features thatallow for the coupling of the beacon device to any part of a merchantphysical location 100, discussed below.

Referring now to FIGS. 3a and 3b , an embodiment of a service experiencescore system 300 is illustrated. As illustrated in FIG. 3a , the serviceexperience score system 300 is provided by positioning a plurality ofthe beacon devices 200, discussed above with reference to FIG. 2, in andaround the merchant physical location 100, discussed above withreference to FIG. 1. As discussed above, the beacon devices 200 may besized such that they may be inconspicuously positioned virtuallyanywhere in or around the merchant physical location 100. For example,the beacon devices 200 may be positioned on the ceiling within variousareas of the merchant physical location interior 104 including withinthe bar area 108, the to-go area 110, the table seating area 112, thelarge booth seating area 114, the small booth seating area 116, and/orin any other part of the merchant physical location 100. Each of thebeacon devices 200 in the service experience score system 300 may beconfigured to wirelessly communicate, via its first communicationssystem 204, with a merchant network communication device 302 such as,for example, a Wifi wireless router connected to a network such as theInternet.

Referring now to FIG. 3b , in operation, each of the beacon devices 200is configured to create a communication area 304 with its secondcommunications system 204. For example, the second communications system204 in each beacon device 200 may be a BLE communications device thatprovides an approximately 100 foot radius communications area. Dependingon a desired coverage area, the power of individual beacon devices maybe turned up or down to cover different sized areas, such thatindividual beacons within the location may have the same or differentsize coverage areas. However, other communications systems providingother communications areas are envisioned as falling within the scope ofthe present disclosure. As can be seen in the illustrated embodiment,the beacon devices 200 may be positioned in and around the merchantphysical location 100 such that the communications areas 304 abut,overlap, or otherwise provide coverage for any area of interest withinand around the merchant physical location 100. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 3b , the communications areas 304 may also providecoverage for one or more of the parking spaces 105 a, 105 b, 105 c, and105 d. One of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosurewill appreciate that different configurations of the beacon devices 200within and around the merchant physical location 100 may be selected tocover any area within and around the merchant physical location 100 witha communications area 304.

As discussed in further detail below, each of the beacon devices 200 areconfigured to communicate with customer devices within their respectivecommunications area 304 (e.g., using the second communication system208) to collect information, and then send that information to themerchant network communication device 302 (e.g., using the firstcommunication system 204) such that the data may be provided to amerchant device, a system provider device, and/or any other deviceoperating to provide the service experience score system discussedbelow. In an embodiment, each of the beacon devices 200 may communicatewith a database at the merchant physical location 100 to retrievereal-time service experience scores, discussed in further detail below.

Furthermore, one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure will recognize that the first communications system 204 andthe second communications system 208 in the beacon devices 200 may beselected such that the service experience score system 300 does notrequire an Internet data connection or cellular data connection tocollect and/or provide data for service experience scores. In otherwords, the service experience score system 300 may be provided as alocal communication system within the merchant physical location 100 inwhich customer devices communicate through the beacon devices 200 with asystem provider device that accesses local databases (i.e., stored atthe merchant physical location 100) to retrieve and provide data forservice experience scores utilizing customer devices, merchant devices,and/or service provider devices, among others. For example, in someembodiments, customer devices may be enabled to retrieve real-timeservice experience scores directly from a local database or systemprovider device at the merchant physical location 100 through the beacondevices 200, rather than through a website that may only be updatedoccasionally. However, in other embodiments, the system provider devicein the service experience score system 300 may utilize an Internet dataconnection, cellular data connection, or other network to access remotedatabases for retrieving data for, and providing data related to,service experience scores (or other information discussed below) to thecustomer devices, merchant devices, and/or service provider devices.

In some of the figures associated with the embodiments discussed below,the beacon devices 200 and their communications areas 304 are not shownfor the sake of clarity, but it should be understood that thecommunications and retrieval of information from beacon communicationdevices, and the provision of that information to a system providerdevice, may be accomplished using beacon devices providingcommunications areas such as the beacon devices 200 and communicationsareas 304 illustrated in FIGS. 3a and 3b . While a specific example of aservice experience score system 300 is provided, one of skill in the artin possession of the present disclosure will recognize that a widevariety of different merchant physical locations may incorporate thebeacon devices 200 in a variety of manners while remaining within itsscope.

In the embodiments discussed below, the service experience score systemsand methods involve a system provider using a system provider device todetermine a start and end of a user service experience by communicating,through the beacon devices 200, with customer devices at the merchantphysical location 100. As discussed in more detail below, the startand/or end of the user service experience may include any of severalevents which occur during a customer visit to the merchant physicallocation 100. For example, when the merchant physical location includesa restaurant, the start and/or end of the user service experience mayinclude any of the customer parking a car, entering the restaurant,being seated, placing an order, receiving an order, paying for an order,leaving the restaurant, and leaving the parking area, and/or a varietyof other service experience events known in the art, which can bedetected by beacons as the customer enters or leaves a beacon coveragearea. Thereby, the system provider device may generate a serviceexperience score and/or subsets of that service experience score that isbased at least partly on the start and end of the user serviceexperience and/or subsets of that user service experience. Additionally,the system provider device may store any determined service experiencescores in a database located at the merchant physical location 100 or aremote database, for example, by way of a network connection.

In some embodiments, the system provider device may be a merchant devicethat is local to the merchant physical location 100 and thatcommunicates with the beacon devices 200 using the merchant networkcommunication device 302. In other embodiments, the system provider maybe, for example, a payment service provider that provides the serviceexperience score system 300 for the merchant at the merchant physicallocation 100, and receives service experience scores at a paymentservice provider device that are sent from the customer devices, throughthe beacon devices 200, and possibly through a merchant device(including a local merchant database) and a network (e.g., theInternet). In such embodiments, the payment service provider device mayassociate the merchant physical location 100 (or its merchant), thebeacon devices 200, merchant devices, and/or other components of thesystem with a merchant account in a database located in a non-transitorymemory. As such, information sent and received through the beacondevices and merchant devices may be associated with the merchant accountin the database, and any use of that information may be stored inassociation with that merchant account. As such, the payment serviceprovider may provide a service experience score system for a pluralityof different merchants and merchant physical locations. Moreover, insome embodiments, the service experience score system 300 in conjunctionwith the payment service provider device, may also associate specificcustomer transactions (e.g., orders/purchases) to specific areas (thebar area 108, the to-go area 110, the table seating area 112, the largebooth seating area 114, the small booth seating area 116) of themerchant physical location 100 to provide area-specific and/orseat-specific service experience scores.

In an embodiment, the operation of the service experience score system300 may include providing a mapping of the merchant physical location100 in a database that describes each of the bar area 108, the to-goarea 110, the table seating area 112, the large booth seating area 114,the small booth seating area 116, or other areas in accordance withvarious merchant physical locations. For example, service experiencescores associated with each such area and/or other characteristics orfeatures of these areas (e.g., particular booths, tables, barstools,etc.) may be determined by the system provider device and associatedwith the mapping of the merchant physical location 100, as discussedbelow. As discussed below, the use of such information to the systemprovider device allows the system provider device to create, provide,and utilize a detailed map, layout, or other reproduction of themerchant physical location interior 104 with the service experiencedetails determined using the systems and methods discussed herein.Furthermore, the service experience scores for each of the various areasin the merchant physical location interior 104 may also be provided tothe system provider device. In one example, the service experiencescores for various areas in a restaurant may be provided to the merchantor system provider by selecting areas on a map of the physical merchantlocation 100. As discussed below, the mapped service experience scoresmay be used to assist merchants in improving customer service, to assistcustomers in selecting a preferred seating location in the physicalmerchant location 100, to assist customers in selecting betweendifferent merchant physical locations, and/or to provide a variety ofother benefits that would be apparent to one of skill in the art inpossession of the present disclosure. While a few examples of theprovision of merchant physical location layout information and serviceexperience scores have been described, one of skill in the art inpossession of the present disclosure will recognize that a wide varietyof merchant physical location information, service experience scores,and information provisioning techniques will allow for the functionalityof the system provider device discussed below, and thus will fall withinthe scope of the present disclosure.

Furthermore, FIGS. 1, 3 a, and 3 b illustrate a merchant physicallocation 100 that is a single building, with the beacon devices 200positioned to provide communications areas 304 that cover the interiorof that single building, a parking area of the single building, andoutside sections in the front of that single building. However, beacondevices 200 may be positioned virtually anywhere to retrieve informationassociated with a merchant physical location. For example, while beacondevices 200 have been illustrated to provide coverage to portions of aparking area 105, beacon devices 200 may be positioned throughout anentire parking lot, at the entrances or exits of that parking lot,and/or anywhere else relative to that parking lot in order to collectand send information from customer devices to the system providerdevice. In another example, the merchant physical location may belocated in a mall, and beacon devices may be positioned around thatmall, at the entrances or exits of that mall, and/or anywhere elserelative to that mall in order to collect and send information fromcustomer devices to the system provider device. In some examples, thefirst communication system may be connected to Wifi networks availableoutside the merchant physical location in order to communicate collectedinformation to a system provider device. In other examples, the firstcommunication system may be a cellular communications system that allowsthe beacon devices to be positioned anywhere in range of a cellularcommunications tower, allowing beacon devices to be positioned invirtually any physical location when providing the product informationsystem. As such, experience scores associated with the merchant physicallocation 100 may incorporate customer actions that are performed outsidethe merchant physical location 100.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an embodiment of a method 400 for providingservice experience scores for merchant physical locations isillustrated. One of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure will recognize that the method 400 may be performed at themerchant physical location 100 for a plurality of different users todetermine user service experience scores and then aggregate those userservice experience scores to generate an aggregated merchant experiencescore that is indicative of the average service experience for acustomer at that merchant physical location. Those aggregated serviceexperience scores may then be provided by the system provider deviceover a network for display on a user device of a user that is attemptingto determine whether to visit the merchant physical location 100.Likewise, merchant service experience scores associated with particularareas within the merchant physical location 100 may be determined in asimilar manner.

The method 400 begins at block 402 where a start of a user serviceexperience of a user associated with a user device is determined. Insome embodiments, a user service experience may include a total amountof time a user spends visiting a merchant physical location 100 (e.g., arestaurant). In other embodiments, a user service experience may includean amount of time a user spends waiting to be seated at the merchantphysical location 100. In yet other embodiments, a user serviceexperience may include an amount of time a user spends waiting for anorder at the merchant physical location 100. In other embodiments, auser service experience may include an amount of time a user spendswaiting to pay for an order at the merchant physical location 100. Whilea few examples of components that make up a user service experience havebeen provided, any other user service experience, including anycombination of subsets of events of the user service experience, may beutilized in the service experience score taught herein and is envisionedas falling within the scope of the present disclosure.

As discussed above, a user service experience may include one of manyevents or subset of events, and the start of such a user serviceexperience may likewise include one of a variety of different individualevents such as parking a vehicle, entering the merchant physicallocation 100, or leaving the merchant physical location 100, as well asindividual service events occurring while at the merchant physicallocation 100 such as being seated, placing an order, receiving an order,paying for an order, and/or a variety of other service experience eventsknown in the art. At block 402, when such an event happens, as may bedetermined by communication or break in communication between at leastone beacon device 200 and a user device of a customer or a merchantdevice of the merchant, a timestamp may be recorded by the systemprovider that indicates a start time of the user service experience.Moreover, as discussed below, the system provider device may generate aservice experience score that is based at least partly on the start ofthe user service experience. While some examples of a start of a userservice experience have been provided, a variety of user serviceexperience start events are envisioned as falling within the scope ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, an embodiment of a portion of a service experiencescore system 500 is illustrated that may be used to determine the startof a user service experience at block 402. The service experience scoresystem 500 includes a system provider device 502 communicatively coupledto beacon devices 504 (which may be the beacon devices 200 discussedabove), a merchant physical location database 506, and a customerdatabase 508.

While illustrated as single databases, the merchant physical locationdatabase 506 and customer database 508 may include multiple databasesthat may be located at the merchant physical location 100 and/or coupledto system provider device 502 by a network (e.g., the Internet).

In an embodiment, the merchant physical location database 506 may storethe merchant physical location information 506 a discussed above thatdescribes the layout of the merchant physical location 100 including thebar area 108, the to-go area 110, the table seating area 112, the largebooth seating area 114, the small booth seating area 116, and which mayinclude service experience scores that have been collected from aplurality of different customers and that may be associated with eacharea of the merchant physical location 100 and/or any other features inthe merchant physical location interior 104. As such, the merchantphysical location database 506 may also include service experience scoredata 506 b about each of the areas in the merchant physical location100, and any of the service experience scores or associated data may beupdated in real-time as it is generated by customers in the merchantphysical location 100. Furthermore, the customer database 508 may storecustomer information such as customer account information, customerpurchase histories, customer seating locations associated with customerpurchases, customer preferences, and/or a variety of other customerinformation known in the art.

Referring now to FIGS. 4, 6, and 7, a specific example of block 402 ofthe method 400 is herein described. Referring first to FIG. 6a , avehicle 602 is illustrated having arrived at the merchant physicallocation 100 and parked in the parking space 105 c. In some embodiments,a beacon device 200 having coverage of the parking space 105 c of theparking area 105 may communicate with a user device of a customer 601(not shown) in the vehicle 602 arriving and/or parking in the parkingspace 105 c, and data from that communication may be used by the systemprovider device to determine a starting time for the customer's visit,which may also be determined to be the start of a user serviceexperience (block 402 of FIG. 4). In FIG. 6 b, the customer 601 isillustrated as having exited the vehicle 602 and walking toward themerchant physical location 100. The customer 601 may then enter themerchant physical location, as shown in FIG. 6c , for example throughthe door 106 b. In an embodiment, a beacon device 200 having a coveragearea that includes the restaurant door 106 b may communicate with theuser device of the customer 601 entering the merchant physical location(e.g., a restaurant). In some embodiments, a time at which the customer601 enters the merchant physical location 100 may be determined to bethe start of the user service experience (block 402 of FIG. 4). Forexample, when there are no beacons 200 with a coverage area includingthe parking area 105 or when the customer 601 arrived at the merchantphysical location 100 by an alternative mode of transportation (e.g.,walking, by bus, etc.), then the first interaction any of the beacons200 has with the user device may be when the customer 601 enters themerchant physical location 100, or when the customer's user device iswithin range of one or more of the beacons 200. As discussed in furtherdetail below, in some embodiments the time between the parking of thevehicle and the entry of the customer 601 to the merchant physicallocation 100 may be a subset of a service experience that is used todetermine one or more of the service experience scores for the merchantphysical location 100.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6c , the customer 601 isillustrated having entered the merchant physical location 100 andlooking for a place to sit or waiting to be seated by a host/hostess. Invarious embodiments, the customer 601 or merchant may select a place forthe customer to sit based on a user service experience score of aparticular area of the restaurant, as discussed below. Specifically,referring now to FIG. 7, a customer or merchant device 700 isillustrated that includes a display 700 a and an input button 700 bdisplaying an area-specific merchant physical location serviceexperience map. While the customer device 700 is illustrated anddescribed as a mobile phone, a variety of other customer devices areenvisioned as falling within the scope of the present disclosure.Moreover, a restaurant host/hostess or other employee of the merchant ofthe merchant physical location 100 may utilize a similar device to aidin the seating of guests such as the customer 601. In the illustratedembodiment, the customer device 700 is displaying a service experiencescore screen 702 that provides the customer 601 and/or merchant withinformation regarding the service experience score for different areasof the physical merchant location 100. In one example, the customerdevice 700 may include a service experience application, which may belaunched by the customer 601 or may automatically launch upon enteringthe merchant physical location 100 (e.g., in response to communicationwith the beacon devices 504), that provides for the functionality of thecustomer device 700 discussed below. In the illustrated embodiment, theservice experience score screen 702 includes a map section 702 a(illustrating the map of FIG. 6m , discussed below) and an informationsection 702 b for providing service experience scores for areas of themerchant physical location 100 to the customer 601 or merchant. In someembodiments, the service experience score available to the customer 601or merchant through the service experience application may be based onhistorical data compiled from prior visits of other customers, and insome cases may also include data associated with prior visits of thecustomer 601. While the service experience application is illustrated asproviding the service experience score screen 702 immediately, in someembodiments, the customer 601 or merchant may be required to provideauthentication credentials in order to access the service experiencescore screen 702.

Continuing with the above example and referring now to FIGS. 4 and 6 d,the customer 601 is illustrated entering the table seating area 112 andbeing seated at a table 112 e. A beacon device 200 having a coveragearea that includes the table 112 e may communicate with the user deviceof the customer 601 seated at the table 112 e. In some embodiments, atime at which the customer 601 enters the table seating area 112 may bedetermined by the system provider device to be the start of the userservice experience (block 402 of FIG. 4). In other embodiments, a timeat which the customer 601 is seated at the table 112 e may be determinedby the system provider device to be the start of the user serviceexperience. Alternatively, in some embodiments, when the customer entersthe table seating area 112 or is seated at the table 112 e, the method400 proceeds to block 404 (FIG. 4) where an end of a user serviceexperience of a user associated with a user device may be determined bythe system provider device. Thus, in this example, the user experiencemay include the amount of time the customer 601 spent waiting to beseated at the merchant physical location 100, as measured from when thecustomer 601 arrived in the vehicle 602 (FIG. 6a ) or when the customer601 entered the merchant physical location 100 (FIG. 6c ), to when thecustomer 601 entered the table seating area 112 or when the customer isseated at the table 112 e. In some embodiments of the block 404, whenthe end of the user service experience is determined, the systemprovider device may record a timestamp indicating an end time of theuser service experience. As described above, in some embodiments,seating of the customer 601 may be regarded as the end of a subset ofthe user service experience. In addition, the seating of the customermay be the beginning of another subset of the user service experience(e.g., a customer visit to the merchant may include a first subset ofthe user service experience of waiting to be seated, and a second subsetof the user service experience of waiting to be served after beingseated, etc.). However, the seating of the customer 601 may also beregarded as a single service event occurring during the course of abroader user service experience (e.g., a visit to a restaurant).

The method 400 then proceeds to block 406 where the system providerdevice generates a service experience score that is based at leastpartly on the start of the user service experience and the end of theuser service experience. In an embodiment of block 406, the systemprovider device may measure a time between the start of the user serviceexperience and the end of the user service experience, measured asdescribed above, and the service experience score may then be generatedat least partly using the measured time between the start and end of theuser service experience. Thereafter, the method 400 proceeds to block408 where the service experience score is stored in a database inassociation with a merchant that is associated with the merchantphysical location 100. In various embodiments of the block 408, theservice experience score may be stored in a local or remote database andmay include the merchant physical location database 506 and/or thecustomer database 508, as described with reference to FIG. 5.

Referring now to FIG. 6e , the customer 601 is illustrated placing anorder with a waiter 603. In some embodiments, the waiter 603 may have awearable beacon device 200 that communicates with the user device of thecustomer 601 seated at the table 112 e. In other embodiments, an ordernumber stand 605 may have an attached or embedded beacon device 200 thatcommunicates with the user device of the customer 601 seated at thetable 112 e. In various embodiments, placing an order may be regarded asan individual service event, or as the start/end of a user serviceexperience. In either example, when the customer 601 places an orderwith the waiter 603, as determined by communication between the userdevice and a beacon device 200 (e.g., a waiter 603 wearable beacondevice or a table number stand 605 beacon device), the system providerdevice may record a timestamp indicating a service event time or thestart/end of a user service experience (block 402 or 404 of FIG. 4).

In some embodiments, the ordering of a particular item may be associatedwith a service experience score. For example, services experience timesand/or other service experience details may differ based on what theservice is for (e.g., the ordering of a cooked to order steak may takelonger than the ordering of a pre-cooked item). The system providerdevice may associate order details with a user service experience suchthat service experience scores may be ordered-item specific, whichallows a customer to determine a service experience score for themerchant physical location based on the item that the customer isthinking about ordering. Such embodiments allow for a customer to make adecision on what to order at a merchant physical location based on howlong it will take for that order to be provided.

The system provider device may then generate a service experience score(block 406 of FIG. 4) based at least partly on the start/end of the userservice experience illustrated in FIG. 6e . For example, in anembodiment of block 406, the system provider device may measure a timebetween when the customer 601 was seated (in some embodiments, the startof the user service experience) and when the customer 601 placed theirorder with the waiter 603 (in some embodiments, the end of the userservice experience). The service experience score may then be generatedat least partly using the measured time between the start and end of theuser service experience. The service experience score may then be storedin a database (block 408 of FIG. 4) associated with the merchantphysical location 100, as described above.

In some embodiments, in addition to storing the service experience score(or subset thereof) in association with the merchant physical location100 or areas within the merchant physical location 100, the serviceexperience scores may be associated with employees (e.g., the waiter 603in the example above) of the merchant. As such, the database of thesystem provider may include service experience scores associated withemployees that provided service to a customer (e.g., a serviceexperience score associated with a valet that is based on the time thecustomer's vehicle arrived at the physical merchant location and thetime the vehicle was taken from the customer, as well as the time ittook to return the vehicle to the customer; a service experience scoreassociated with a host/hostess that is based on the time the customerentered the merchant physical location and the time the customer wasseated at a table; a service experience score associated with a waiterthat is based on the time a customer was seated at a table, a time thecustomer ordered, a time the customer's drinks were refilled, a time thecustomer's order was served, a time the bill was provided, a time thebill was returned, etc.; a service experience score for a cook based onthe time the order was taken from the customer and a time the order toready for delivery by the waiter, etc.) While a few examples have beenprovided, one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure will recognized that service experience scores may beassociated with any employees of any merchant in a similar manner whileremaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 6f , the customer 601 is illustrated waiting foran order 607 at the merchant physical location 100. In the exampleshown, the order 607 is ready and waiting for delivery by the waiter 603(as discussed above, the entry of the order by the waiter 603 into amerchant device may be the start of a service experience event, and thecompletion of the order by kitchen staff may be the end of a serviceexperience event, and those may result in a service experience score).In some embodiments, a kitchen staff member may communicate with thesystem provider device 502 (FIG. 5) to indicate that the order 607 isready. In one example, the order 607 may be served on a plate having anattached or embedded beacon device 200 that communicates with the systemprovider device 502. In various embodiments, completion of the order 607may be regarded as an individual service event, or as the start/end of auser service experience. In either example, when the order 607 is ready,the system provider device may record a timestamp indicating a serviceevent time or the start/end of a user service experience (block 402 or404 of FIG. 4).

The system provider device may then generate a service experience score(block 406 of FIG. 4) based at least partly on the start/end of the userservice experience illustrated in FIG. 6f . For example, in anembodiment of block 406, the system provider device may measure a timebetween when the customer 601 placed the order 607 with the waiter 603(in some embodiments, the start of the user service experience) and whenthe order 607 was ready (in some embodiments, the end of the userservice experience). The service experience score may then be generatedat least partly using the measured time between the start and end ofsuch a user service experience. The service experience score may then bestored in a database (block 408 of FIG. 4) associated with the merchantphysical location 100, as described above.

Referring now to FIG. 6g , the customer 601 is illustrated receiving theorder 607 delivered by the waiter 603. In some embodiments, delivery ofthe order 607 may be communicated to the system provider device 502 by abeacon device 200 that is attached or embedded within the served plate.In other embodiments, delivery of the order 607 may be communicated tothe system provider device 502 by removal of the order number stand 605,which has an attached or embedded beacon device 200, from the table 112e. In yet other embodiments, delivery of the order 607 may becommunicated to the system provider device 502 by the waiter 603 walkingaway from the table 112 e, as determined by a waiter 603 wearable beaconcommunication device, after delivery of the order 607. In variousembodiments, completion of delivery of the order 607 may be regarded asan individual service event, or as the start/end of a user serviceexperience. In either example, when the order 607 is delivered, thesystem provider device may record a timestamp indicating a service eventtime or the start/end of a user service experience (block 402 or 404 ofFIG. 4).

The system provider device may then generate a service experience score(block 406 of FIG. 4) based at least partly on the start/end of the userservice experience illustrated in FIG. 6g . For example, in anembodiment of block 406, the system provider device may measure a timebetween when the order 607 was taken or ready (in some embodiments, thestart of the user service experience) and when the order 607 wasdelivered to the customer 601 (in some embodiments, the end of the userservice experience). The service experience score may then be generatedat least partly using the measured time between the start and end ofsuch a user service experience. The service experience score may then bestored in a database (block 408 of FIG. 4) associated with the merchantphysical location 100, as described above.

Referring now to FIG. 6h , the customer 601 is illustrated paying forthe order, as shown by the check/payment 609. In some embodiments,payment of the order is accomplished electronically, for example by apayment service provider, as discussed above. In other embodiments,payment of the order may be made by cash, check, or credit/debit card.In either example, payment of the order may then be communicated to thesystem provider device 502, for example manually by way of thehost/hostess 603 interfacing with a register in communication with thesystem provider device and/or electronically by way of the paymentservice provider. In various embodiments, payment of the order may beregarded as an individual service event, or as the start/end of a userservice experience. In either example, when the order is paid for, thesystem provider device may record a timestamp indicating a service eventtime or the start/end of a user service experience (block 402 or 404 ofFIG. 4).

The system provider device may then generate a service experience score(block 406 of FIG. 4) based at least partly on the start/end of the userservice experience illustrated in FIG. 6h . For example, in anembodiment of block 406, the system provider device may measure a timebetween when the payment (e.g., credit/debit card) was delivered to thehost/hostess 603 (in some embodiments, the start of the user serviceexperience) and when the host/hostess 603 returned to the table 112 ewith a charge receipt requiring the customer's signature (in someembodiments, the end of the user service experience). The serviceexperience score may then be generated at least partly using themeasured time between the start and end of such a user serviceexperience. The service experience score may then be stored in adatabase (block 408 of FIG. 4) associated with the merchant physicallocation 100, as described above.

After paying for their order, the customer 601 may choose to stay at thetable 112 e. For example, if the customer 601 is dining with othercustomers, the customer 601 may choose to stay at the merchant physicallocation to relax and talk with the other customers without requiring orrequesting additional service from the host/hostess 603. Thus, in someembodiments, the time that the customer 601 spends within the merchantphysical location 100 after paying for their order may be disregarded orotherwise not considered in determining the service experience score.Rather, in some embodiments and as illustrated in FIG. 6i , the nextevent where a timestamp may be recorded by the service provider device,and which may be used to determine the service experience score, is whenthe customer 601 walks away from the table 112 e and/or exits themerchant physical location 100. This may be determined by a beacondevice 200 having a coverage area that includes the table 112 e and thatis in communication with the user device of the customer 601. In variousembodiments, the customer leaving the table 112 e may be regarded as theend of a user service experience (block 404 of FIG. 4), and the systemprovider device may then generate a service experience score (block 406of FIG. 4) based at least partly on the end of the user serviceexperience illustrated in FIG. 6i . For example, in an embodiment ofblock 406, the system provider device may measure a time between whenthe customer 601 entered the merchant physical location 100 or wasseated at the table 112 e (in some embodiments, the start of the userservice experience) and when the customer left the table 112 e (in someembodiments, the end of the user service experience), withoutconsideration of any time spent at the table 112 e after paying for theorder (e.g., to visit with other customers). The service experiencescore may then be generated at least partly using the measured timebetween the start and end of such a user service experience. The serviceexperience score may then be stored in a database (block 408 of FIG. 4)associated with the merchant physical location 100, as described above.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the customer leaving the tableseating area 112 may be regarded as the end of a user service experience(block 404 of FIG. 4), and the system provider device may then generatea service experience score (block 406 of FIG. 4) based at least partlyon the end of the user service experience illustrated in FIG. 6i . Forexample, in an embodiment of block 406, the system provider device maymeasure a time between when the customer 601 entered the table seatingarea 112 (FIG. 6d , in some embodiments, the start of the user serviceexperience) and when the customer left the table seating area 112 (FIG.6i , in some embodiments, the end of the user service experience). Theservice experience score may then be generated at least partly using themeasured time between the start and end of such a user serviceexperience, and stored in a database (block 408 of FIG. 4) associatedwith the merchant physical location 100.

Referring now to FIG. 6j , the customer 601 is illustrated leaving themerchant physical location through the door 106 a. A beacon device 200having a coverage area that includes the restaurant door 106 a maycommunicate with the user device of the customer 601 leaving themerchant physical location (e.g., the restaurant). In some embodiments,a time at which the customer 601 leaves the merchant physical location100 is determined to be the end of the user service experience (block404 of FIG. 4), and the system provider device may then generate aservice experience score (block 406 of FIG. 4) based at least partly onthe end of the user service experience illustrated in FIG. 6j . Forexample, in an embodiment of block 406, the system provider device maymeasure a time between when the customer 601 entered the merchantphysical location 100 (FIG. 6c , in some embodiments, the start of theuser service experience) and when the customer left the merchantphysical location (FIG. 6j , in some embodiments, the end of the userservice experience). The service experience score may then be generatedat least partly using the measured time between the start and end ofsuch a user service experience, and stored in a database (block 408 ofFIG. 4) associated with the merchant physical location 100.

Referring now to FIG. 6k , the customer (not shown) entered the vehicle602 and is illustrated departing from the parking space 105 c of theparking area 105 of the merchant physical location 100. In someembodiments, a beacon device 200 having coverage of the parking space105 c may communicate with a user device of a customer 601 (not shown)in the vehicle 602 and thus determine an ending time for the customer'svisit, which may also be determined to be the end of a user serviceexperience (block 402 of FIG. 4). The system provider device may thengenerate a service experience score (block 406 of FIG. 4) based at leastpartly on the end of the user service experience illustrated in FIG. 6k. For example, in an embodiment of block 406, the system provider devicemay measure a time between when the customer 601 arrived and parked inthe parking space 105 c (FIG. 6a , in some embodiments, the start of theuser service experience) and when the customer departed from the parkingspace 105 c (FIG. 6k , in some embodiments, the end of the user serviceexperience). The service experience score may then be generated at leastpartly using the measured time between the start and end of such a userservice experience, and stored in a database (block 408 of FIG. 4)associated with the merchant physical location 100.

While a few examples of individual service events, as well as variousexamples of the start/end of various user service experiences, have beendescribed, one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure will recognize that a wide variety of service events and userservice experiences, occurring at variety of times, may be determinedwhile remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover,while the above examples have been described primarily in the context ofa casual or fine-dining restaurant with table service, one of skill inthe art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize thatembodiments of the present disclosure may be equally employed infast-food restaurants, cafes, coffee houses, diners, pubs, as well asmerchant physical locations and points of interest such as adepartment/grocery store, a pharmacy, a movie theater, a theme park, asports stadium, among others, while remaining within the scope of thepresent disclosure.

In some embodiments, the generation of the service experience score mayinclude a number or grade that is based on the time the user spentreceiving the service, details of the service, an employee that providedthe service, a date/time of the service, and/or a variety of otherservice factors known in the art. As such, the service experience scoremay depend not just on a time period that passed while the service wasreceived, but may be modified based on what the customer ordered, theexperience of the employee that provided the service, whether theservice was provided during a typically slow or busy period, and/or anyother factors that allow the service experience score to be an accurateindication of the service that was provided to the customer. Using thesefactors in addition to the time necessary to provide the service allowsthe service experience score to be normalized for a variety of differentservice scenarios.

Referring now to FIGS. 6l and 6m , and as discussed above, the operationof the service experience score system may include providing a map ofthe merchant physical location 100 that may include indications of eachof the bar area 108, the to-go area 110, the table seating area 112, thelarge booth seating area 114, the small booth seating area 116, or otherareas in accordance with various merchant physical locations. Moreover,service experience scores associated with each such area and/or othercharacteristics or features of these areas may be provided to the systemprovider device. For example, in some embodiments as shown in FIG. 6l ,scores for each of the various areas in the merchant physical locationinterior 104 may be mapped by using different patterns, shadings, and/orcolors, allowing for a quick service experience score comparison amongthe various areas (e.g., green areas to indicate relatively fast serviceareas, red areas to indicate relatively slow areas, etc.).Alternatively, in other embodiments as shown in FIG. 6m , specifictables/booths/bar stools/benches within each of the various areas in themerchant physical location interior 104 may be mapped by using differentpatterns, shadings, and/or colors according to the service experiencescores for each individual table/booth/bar stool/bench, thus allowingfor a more detailed view of the service experience score for specificlocations within the merchant physical location.

In embodiments where the service experience scores are associated withemployees at the merchant physical location, the mapping may allow forthe selection of particular employees to allow for a determination to bemade as to how different employees affect the service experience scoreof a particular area or section of the merchant physical location. Suchemployee information (employee schedules) may also be pushed to customerdevices to provide for employee specific service experience scoremapping across a merchant physical location that allows the customer tosee service experience scores that are based on the employees that areworking at the merchant physical location the same time the customer isvisiting the merchant physical location.

In embodiments where the service experience scores are associated withitems ordered at the merchant physical location, the mapping may allowfor the selection of particular item or items to allow for adetermination to be made as to how different item orders will affect theservice experience score of a particular area or section of the merchantphysical location. The mapping may allow the customer to input an orderof a plurality of items and then have a service experience scoreindicate a time that it will take to receive those items, which allowsthe customer to determine if they have time (or are willing to wait) fora particular item or items. While a few examples of mapping the userservice experience score to the merchant physical location 100 have beendescribed, one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure will recognize that a wide variety of map types andconfigurations may be used while staying within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Thus, a customer 601 may visit the merchant physical location 100 andselect an area of the merchant physical location based on the userservice experience score for that area, as determined by a plurality ofprevious customer service experiences sitting in that area. Moreover,the customer 601 may also use the user service experience score prior tovisiting the merchant physical location 100 to decide whether thecustomer would like to visit that merchant physical location relative toother merchant physical locations (e.g., based on their relative serviceexperience scores).

In some embodiments, service experience scores may be associated withtimes (e.g., an average time) that are associated with receiving serviceat a particular location. For example, a service experience scoreassociated with a merchant physical location may provide an average timethat is typical for customers receiving service at that merchantphysical location, and customers may use service experience scores todetermine whether they have time (or would be willing to wait theindicated time) to go to a particular merchant physical location, orchoose between merchant physical locations based on the time associatedwith their respective service experience scores. As such, customers mayuse the service experience scores prior to visiting the merchantphysical location 100 to plan a schedule (e.g. allocating the timeassociated with the service experience score to the schedule for a visitto the merchant physical location). As discussed above, a merchant at amerchant physical location may likewise utilize the user serviceexperience score, for example, to improve business operations andcustomer service (e.g., to aid in the seating of guests at arestaurant), to determine which areas of the merchant physical location(or employees in the merchant physical location) need help in increasingtheir service experience score, to determine which employees may bebetter to schedule for a busy night, etc.

Thus, systems and methods for providing a user service experience scorehave been described that provide customers at a merchant physicallocation access to service experience scores that indicate timesassociated with being seated at a restaurant, placing an order,receiving an order, paying for an order, leaving the restaurant, leavingthe parking area, and/or a variety of other service experience eventsknown in the art. The user service experience score and related serviceexperience score data 506 b (FIG. 5) may be utilized by the customer toquickly determine a restaurant to visit, an optimal place to sit in arestaurant (i.e., having the shortest service wait time), an overalltime required for a visit to a particular merchant location, a wait timeto be seated, a wait time for ordering a specific menu item whilesitting at a particular location within the restaurant, and/or a varietyof other wait times known in the art. Such systems and methods provideimprovements over conventional systems for providing wait times that areoften inaccurate and are at best a rough estimate. While the systems andmethods discussed above have been described as being used by customersof a merchant at a merchant physical location, one of skill in the artin possession of the present disclosure will recognize that the systemsand methods discussed herein may be used by employees of the merchant toprovide similar benefits to those discussed above that are provided tothe customers.

Referring now to FIG. 8, an embodiment of a network-based system 800 forimplementing one or more processes described herein is illustrated. Asshown, the network-based system 800 may comprise or implement aplurality of servers and/or software components that operate to performvarious methodologies in accordance with the described embodiments.Exemplary servers may include, for example, stand-alone andenterprise-class servers operating a server OS such as a MICROSOFT® OS,a UNIX® OS, a LINUX® OS, or other suitable server-based OS. It can beappreciated that the servers illustrated in FIG. 8 may be deployed inother ways and that the operations performed and/or the servicesprovided by such servers may be combined or separated for a givenimplementation and may be performed by a greater number or fewer numberof servers. One or more servers may be operated and/or maintained by thesame or different entities.

The embodiment of the networked system 800 illustrated in FIG. 8includes a plurality of customer devices 802, a merchant device 804, aplurality of beacon devices 806, a payment service provider device 808,and/or a system provider device 810 in communication over one or morenetworks 812. The customer devices 802 may be the customer devicesdiscussed above and may be operated by the customers discussed above.The merchant devices 804 and beacon devices 806 may be the merchantdevices and beacon devices discussed above and may be operated by themerchants discussed above. The payment service provider device 808 maybe the payment service provider devices discussed above and may beoperated by a payment service provider such as, for example, PayPal Inc.of San Jose, Calif. The system provider devices 810 may be the systemprovider devices discussed above and may be operated by the systemproviders discussed above.

The customer devices 802, merchant device 804, beacon devices 806,payment service provider device 808, and/or system provider device 810may each include one or more processors, memories, and other appropriatecomponents for executing instructions such as program code and/or datastored on one or more computer readable mediums to implement the variousapplications, data, and steps described herein. For example, suchinstructions may be stored in one or more computer readable mediums suchas memories or data storage devices internal and/or external to variouscomponents of the system 800, and/or accessible over the network 812.

The network 812 may be implemented as a single network or a combinationof multiple networks. For example, in various embodiments, the network812 may include the Internet and/or one or more intranets, landlinenetworks, wireless networks, and/or other appropriate types of networks.

The customer devices 802 may be implemented using any appropriatecombination of hardware and/or software configured for wired and/orwireless communication over network 812. For example, in one embodiment,the customer devices 802 may be implemented as a personal computer of auser in communication with the Internet. In other embodiments, thecustomer devices 802 may be a smart phone, personal digital assistant(PDA), laptop computer, and/or other types of computing devices.

The customer devices 802 may include one or more browser applicationswhich may be used, for example, to provide a convenient interface topermit the customer to browse information available over the network812. For example, in one embodiment, the browser application may beimplemented as a web browser configured to view information availableover the Internet.

The customer devices 802 may also include one or more toolbarapplications which may be used, for example, to provide user-sideprocessing for performing desired tasks in response to operationsselected by the customer. In one embodiment, the toolbar application maydisplay a user interface in connection with the browser application.

The customer devices 802 may further include other applications as maybe desired in particular embodiments to provide desired features to thecustomer devices 802. In particular, the other applications may includea payment application for payments assisted by a payment serviceprovider through the payment service provider device 808. The otherapplications may also include security applications for implementinguser-side security features, programmatic user applications forinterfacing with appropriate application programming interfaces (APIs)over the network 812, or other types of applications. Email and/or textapplications may also be included, which allow customer payer to sendand receive emails and/or text messages through the network 812. Thecustomer devices 802 includes one or more user and/or device identifierswhich may be implemented, for example, as operating system registryentries, cookies associated with the browser application, identifiersassociated with hardware of the customer devices 802, or otherappropriate identifiers, such as a phone number. In one embodiment, theuser identifier may be used by the payment service provider device 808to associate the user with a particular account as further describedherein.

The merchant device 804 may be maintained, for example, by aconventional or on-line merchant, conventional or digital goods seller,individual seller, and/or application developer offering variousproducts and/or services in exchange for payment to be receivedconventionally or over the network 812. In this regard, the merchantdevice 804 may include a database identifying available products and/orservices (e.g., collectively referred to as items) which may be madeavailable for viewing and purchase by the customer.

The merchant device 804 also includes a checkout application which maybe configured to facilitate the purchase by the payer of items. Thecheckout application may be configured to accept payment informationfrom the user through the customer devices 802 and/or from the paymentservice provider through the payment service provider device 808 overthe network 812.

Referring now to FIG. 9, an embodiment of a customer device 900 isillustrated. The customer device 900 may be the customer devices 700 or802 discussed above. The customer device 900 includes a chassis 902having a display 904 and an input device including the display 904 and aplurality of input buttons 906. One of skill in the art will recognizethat the customer device 900 is a portable or mobile phone including atouch screen input device and a plurality of input buttons that allowthe functionality discussed above with reference to the methods above.However, a variety of other portable/mobile customer devices and/ordesktop customer devices may be used in the methods discussed abovewithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 10, an embodiment of a computer system 1000suitable for implementing, for example, the customer devices 700 or 802,merchant device 804, beacon devices 200, 504, or 806, payment serviceprovider device 808, and/or system provider devices 502 or 810, isillustrated. It should be appreciated that other devices utilized bycustomers, merchants, beacon devices, merchant beacon communicationdevices, payment service providers, and/or system providers in thesystem discussed above may be implemented as the computer system 1000 ina manner as follows.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure,computer system 1000, such as a computer and/or a network server,includes a bus 1002 or other communication mechanism for communicatinginformation, which interconnects subsystems and components, such as aprocessing component 1004 (e.g., processor, micro-controller, digitalsignal processor (DSP), etc.), a system memory component 1006 (e.g.,RAM), a static storage component 1008 (e.g., ROM), a disk drivecomponent 1010 (e.g., magnetic or optical), a network interfacecomponent 1012 (e.g., modem or Ethernet card), a display component 1014(e.g., CRT or LCD), an input component 1018 (e.g., keyboard, keypad, orvirtual keyboard), a cursor control component 1020 (e.g., mouse,pointer, or trackball), a location determination component 1022 (e.g., aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) device as illustrated, a cell towertriangulation device, and/or a variety of other location determinationdevices known in the art), and/or a camera component 1023. In oneimplementation, the disk drive component 1010 may comprise a databasehaving one or more disk drive components.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the computersystem 1000 performs specific operations by the processor 1004 executingone or more sequences of instructions contained in the memory component1006, such as described herein with respect to the customer devices 802,merchant device 804, beacon devices 806, payment service provider device808, and/or system provider device 810. Such instructions may be readinto the system memory component 1006 from another computer readablemedium, such as the static storage component 1008 or the disk drivecomponent 1010. In other embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be usedin place of or in combination with software instructions to implementthe present disclosure.

Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer toany medium that participates in providing instructions to the processor1004 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but notlimited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.In one embodiment, the computer readable medium is non-transitory. Invarious implementations, non-volatile media includes optical or magneticdisks, such as the disk drive component 1010, volatile media includesdynamic memory, such as the system memory component 1006, andtransmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiberoptics, including wires that comprise the bus 1002. In one example,transmission media may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such asthose generated during radio wave and infrared data communications.

Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example,floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magneticmedium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer is adapted to read. In oneembodiment, the computer readable media is non-transitory.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution ofinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may beperformed by the computer system 1000. In various other embodiments ofthe present disclosure, a plurality of the computer systems 1000 coupledby a communication link 1024 to the network 812 (e.g., such as a LAN,WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless networks, includingtelecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone networks) may performinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure in coordinationwith one another.

The computer system 1000 may transmit and receive messages, data,information and instructions, including one or more programs (i.e.,application code) through the communication link 1024 and the networkinterface component 1012. The network interface component 1012 mayinclude an antenna, either separate or integrated, to enabletransmission and reception via the communication link 1024. Receivedprogram code may be executed by processor 1004 as received and/or storedin disk drive component 1010 or some other non-volatile storagecomponent for execution.

Referring now to FIG. 11, an embodiment of a system provider device 1100is illustrated. In an embodiment, the device 1100 may be the systemprovider devices discussed above. The device 1100 includes acommunication engine 1102 that is coupled to the network 812 and to aproduct information engine 1104 that is coupled to a customerinformation database 1106 and a merchant information database 1108. Thecommunication engine 1102 may be software or instructions stored on acomputer-readable medium that allows the device 1100 to send and receiveinformation over the network 812. The product information engine 1104may be software or instructions stored on a computer-readable mediumthat is operable to update product information at the merchant physicallocation, receive product identifiers, determine product identifiers,retrieve product information using a product identifier, provide productinformation for display on a customer device, as well as provide any ofthe other functionality that is discussed above. While the databases1106 and 1108 have been illustrated as located in the device 1100, oneof skill in the art will recognize that it may be connected to theproduct information engine 1104 through the network 812 withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosuremay be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein may be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein may be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components may be implemented as hardware components andvice-versa.

Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as programcode and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readablemediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may beimplemented using one or more general purpose or specific purposecomputers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Whereapplicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may bechanged, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-stepsto provide features described herein.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosureto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, itis contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modificationsto the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or impliedherein, are possible in light of the disclosure. For example, the aboveembodiments have focused on merchants and customers; however, a customeror consumer can pay, or otherwise interact with any type of recipient,including charities and individuals. The payment does not have toinvolve a purchase, but may be a loan, a charitable contribution, agift, etc. Thus, merchant as used herein can also include charities,individuals, and any other entity or person receiving a payment from acustomer. Having thus described embodiments of the present disclosure,persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes may bemade in form and detail without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is limited only by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A physical location service experience score system, comprising: a non-transitory memory storing computer executable instructions that, when executed by one or more hardware processors, cause the physical location service experience score system to perform a method, comprising: receiving a first sensor signal from a first beacon device through a first wireless communication system using a first wireless communication protocol, wherein the first sensor signal is based on a communication between the first beacon device and a user device through a second wireless communication system using a second wireless communication protocol, and wherein the first beacon device is located at a first physical location and is associated with a first wireless coverage area; determining a start of a user service experience when the first sensor signal is received, wherein the first sensor signal from the first beacon device defines a first communication area that corresponds to a first area of the first physical location; receiving a second sensor signal from a second beacon device through a third wireless communication system using the first wireless communication protocol, wherein the second sensor signal is based on a communication between the second beacon device and the user device through a fourth wireless communication system associated with the second beacon device using the second wireless communication protocol, and wherein the second beacon device is located at a second physical location and is associated with a second wireless coverage area, and wherein at least a portion of the second wireless coverage area overlaps with the first wireless coverage area to provide a combined coverage area; determining, based at least in part on the second sensor signal, that a first service event has occurred subsequent to the start of the user service experience; determining an end of the user service experience based upon a break in communication between the user device and the first beacon device, wherein the break in communication indicates that the user device has left the first area of the first physical location; generating, in-real time, a first service experience score that is based, at least in part, on: the start of the user service experience determined based upon the first sensor signal from the first beacon device; the end of the user service experience determined based upon the break in communication; and a second service experience score based on the first service event; generating a total service experience score based, at least in part, on the first service experience score and the second service experience score; storing the total service experience score, the first service experience score, and the second service experience score in a database associated with a client device associated with one or more of the first beacon device and the second beacon device; and dynamically generating a service experience score map on a display device that includes the total service experience score, the first service experience score and the second service experience score associated with one or more of the first physical location and the second physical location, wherein the service experience score map comprises user interface selectable elements that, upon receipt of a selection, provide detailed information about one or more service experience scores associated with a corresponding physical location, the corresponding physical location defied by one or more beacons.
 2. The physical location service experience score system of claim 1, wherein the first service experience score is generated based further on the first service event.
 3. The physical location service experience score system of claim 2, further comprising: measuring at least one of a first time between the start of the user service experience and the first service event or a second time between the first service event and the end of the user service experience, wherein the first service experience score is generated based further on the at least one of the first time or the second time.
 4. The physical location service experience score system of claim 1, further comprising: aggregating the total service experience score that is associated with the first physical location with a plurality of other total service experience scores that were previously generated by other users and associated with the first physical location to generate an aggregated total service experience score that is associated with the first physical location; and providing the aggregated total service experience score over a network for display on the display device.
 5. The physical location service experience score system of claim 1, further comprising: determining, based at least in part on the first sensor signal, a location of the user device, wherein the first service experience score is generated based further on the location of the user device.
 6. The physical location service experience score system of claim 5, further comprising: detecting a payment for an order that is associated with the user device; generating the first service experience score; and associating the first service experience score with a sub-location associated with the first physical location.
 7. A method for determining a service experience score, comprising: receiving, by a system provider device, a first sensor signal from a first beacon device through a first wireless communication system using a first wireless communication protocol, wherein the first sensor signal is based on a communication between the first beacon device and a user device through a second wireless communication system using a second wireless communication protocol, and wherein the first beacon device is located at a first physical location and is associated with a first wireless coverage area; determining, by the system provider device, a start of a user service experience when the first sensor signal is received by the system provider device; receiving a second sensor signal from a second beacon device through a third wireless communication system using the first wireless communication protocol, wherein the second sensor signal is based on a communication between the second beacon device and the user device through a fourth wireless communication system associated with the second beacon device using the second wireless communication protocol, and wherein the second beacon device is located at a second physical location and is associated with a second wireless coverage area, wherein at least a portion of the second wireless coverage area overlaps with the first wireless coverage area to provide a combined coverage area; determining, by the system provider device, and based at least in part on the second sensor signal, that a first service event has occurred subsequent to the start of the user service experience; determining, by the system provider device, an end of the user service experience based upon a break in communication between the user device and the first beacon device; generating, in real-time, by the system provider device, a first service experience score that is based, at least in part, on: the start of the user service experience determined based upon the first sensor signal from the first beacon device, wherein the first sensor signal from the first beacon device defines a first communication area that corresponds to a first area of the first physical location; the end of the user service experience determined based upon the break in communication, wherein the break in communication indicates that the user device has left the first area of the first physical location; and a second service experience score based on the first service event; generating, by the system provider device, a total service experience score based, at least in part, on the first service experience score and the second service experience score; storing, by the system provider device, the total service experience score, the first service experience score and second service experience score in a database; and dynamically generating, by the system provider device, a service experience score map on a display device that includes the total service experience score, the first service experience score and the second service experience score associated with one or more of the first physical location and the second physical location, wherein the service experience score map comprises user interface selectable elements that, upon receipt of a selection, provide detailed information about one or more service experience scores associated with a corresponding physical location, the corresponding physical location defied by one or more beacons.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first service experience score is generated based further on the first service event.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: measuring, by the system provider device, at least one of a first time between the start of the user service experience and the first service event or a second time between the first service event and the end of the user service experience, wherein the first service experience score is generated based further on the at least one of the first time or the second time.
 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: aggregating, by the system provider device, the total service experience score that is associated with the first physical location with a plurality of other total service experience scores that were previously generated by other users and associated with the first physical location to generate an aggregated total service experience score that is associated with the first physical location; and providing, by the system provider device, the aggregated total service experience score over a network for display on the display device.
 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving, by the system provider device, a third sensor signal; and determining, by the system provider device based on the third sensor signal, that a second service event has occurred subsequent to the first service event, wherein at least one of the first service experience score or the second service experience score is generated based, at least in part, on the second service event.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: measuring, by the system provider device, a time between the first service event and the second service event, wherein the second service experience score is generated based, at least in part, on the measured time.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: measuring, by the system provider device, a time between the second service event and the end of the user service experience, wherein the first service experience score is generated based, at least in part, on the measured time.
 14. The method of claim 7, further comprising: determining, by a system provider device based on the first sensor signal, a location of the user device within the first physical location, wherein the first service experience score is generated based, at least in part, on the location of the user device within the first physical location.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: detecting, by the system provider device, payment for an order that is associated with the user device and, in response, generating the first service experience score; and associating, by the system provider device, the first service experience score with a sub-location within the first physical location, wherein the location of the user device is associated with the sub-location.
 16. The physical location service experience score system of claim 1, wherein the determination that the first service event has occurred subsequent to the start of the user service experience is based, at least in part, on receiving the second sensor signal when the user device is in the combined coverage area.
 17. A system, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more storage devices storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform a method, comprising: receiving a first sensor signal from a first beacon device based on a communication between the first beacon device and a user device; determining a start of a user service experience when the first sensor signal is received, wherein the first sensor signal from the first beacon device defines a first communication area that corresponds to a first area of a physical location; receiving a second sensor signal from a second beacon device different from the first beacon device based on communication between the second beacon device and the user device; determining, based at least in part on the second sensor signal, that a service event has occurred subsequent to the start of the user service experience; determining an end of the user service experience based upon a break in communication between the user device and the first beacon device, wherein the break in communication indicates that the user device has left the first area of the physical location; and generating a service experience score that is based, at least in part, on at least on of: the service event; or the start of the user service experience and the end of the user service experience.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein generating the service experience score comprises generating a first service experience score that is based, at least in part, on: the start of the user service experience and the end of the user service experience; and a second service experience score that is based on the service event, wherein the method further comprises: generating a total service experience score based, at least in part, on the first service experience score and the second service experience score; storing the total service experience score, the first service experience score, and the second service experience score in a database associated with a client device associated with one or more of the first beacon device or the second beacon device; and presenting a service experience score map on a display device that includes the total service experience score, the first service experience score and the second service experience score.
 19. The system of claim 17, wherein: the first beacon device is located at a first physical location and is associated with a first wireless coverage area; the second beacon device is located at a second physical location and is associated with a second wireless coverage area, wherein at least a portion of the second wireless coverage area overlaps with the first wireless coverage area to provide a combined coverage area; and the determination that the service event has occurred subsequent to the start of the user service experience is based, at least in part, on receiving the second sensor signal when the user device is in a combined coverage area.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises adjusting a power of at least one of: the first beacon device to adjust the first wireless coverage area, or the second beacon device to adjust the second wireless coverage area, based on one or more locations of the start of the user service experience, the end of the user service experience, or the service event. 